Louis Napoléon Lannes

Born in Paris, he was the son of Jean Lannes, 1st duc de Montebello, Marshal of the Empire, who died from wounds received during the Battle of Essling on 22 May 1809, and his second wife, Antoinette Scholastica Guéhenneuc.

He had conflicting sympathies, his appointment being intended to please Austria, with which France was seeking to get closer both to break its isolation in Europe, and to ensure the marital prospects of Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the heir to the throne.

He obtained, from the confederal authorities, the internment of political refugees who might disturb the security of neighboring states, and the expulsion of Prince Louis Napoleon (who lived in Swiss territory at the castle of Arenenberg), but how this application was submitted nearly led to war between the two countries.

He then handed the foreign ministry portfolio to Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, and returned to the Chamber of Peers where he spoke on literary property, on the Legion of Honour, on the Greek loan, and on child labor in factories.

He presented, as such a report to the king in which he pronounced against the emancipation of slaves, and several bills relating to the court of assizes in the colonies, the body administering the control and accounts of the Navy and participated in discussions on the budget, land clearing, on the teaching and practice of medicine and pharmacy.

Lannes was part of the commission which called for an extension and confined himself to vote consistently with the majority: for the Roman expedition, for the law-Falloux Parieu on free education, and for the restriction of universal suffrage.